


Targets Sighted

by JaKedeSnaKe



Series: Life in the Perseus Arm [7]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Cute, F/F, Family, Feral Gems (Steven Universe), Future Fic, Gem Egg Hell, Gemlings, cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-28 08:51:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20775842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaKedeSnaKe/pseuds/JaKedeSnaKe
Summary: The humans and their gem guide finally meet up with their desired quarries.





	Targets Sighted

The five sleepy gemlings laid in a pile next to their blue mother. The remaining one, Raylee, was snuggled up next to her other green mom. All the others - including Squirt and Mari - were fast asleep, snuggling up to their lapis mother who had just breastfed them. Their mother somehow seemed to be sleeping harder than all of them. She had just breastfed for the first time being paired up to her peridot mate - and for the first time in many centuries - and thus was completely wiped.

Despite being tired she stirred awake, unintentionally nudging her babies awake in the process. They let out peeps of annoyance in response, squirming their little bodies. The lapis, feeling apologetic, rubbed her head against her gemlings. While the babies didn’t understand their mother’s attempts at reconciliation, they recognized that it was their mother’s touch and purred in response. They soon fell back to sleep.

She smiled. Then she sat up and stretched, making quite a few cracking sounds. Licking her chops from tiredness, she turned and eyed the den’s exit. The lapis let out a huff, for she knew what had to be done. Giving her babies her milk has robbed both her and her mate of much needed energy. So she decided that she would venture out, hunt something that’ll fit in the den, and share it between her and her peridot mate. Carefully, she maneuvered herself around her resting gemlings and towards the den’s exit. Stepping out into the nighttime forest the lapis became illuminated by the light from the planet’s three moons. She took in a deep breath, sniffed the air for an animal’s scent, and skulked off into the bush.

If only she had chosen to stay.

Emerald Pearl stared at the entrance to the den long after the lapis has left, a pained expression etched onto her face. The rain had long subsided by now, and behind her Mitch and Aaron were fine tuning their gear - cages, nets, tasers, futuristic cobalt shotguns, the like. Her eyes were filled with remorse, as she was fully aware of what she was about to do. Sure, she had done this sort of thing before, but this never felt pleasant. Rather it felt traitorous.

“Alright now, we’re all set when you are,” Aaron announced, finished priming his taser.

“Yeah, just - a shit - go ahead when you’re ready,” Mitch said, fidgeting with his taser.

“Fer fucks sake - gimme that,” Aaron demanded, and seized the taser from Mitch’s hands. Performing a simple swipe with his hands on the taser’s touchpad, the taser suddenly ignited. Aaron then thrusted it back into Mitch’s hands, who sheepishly accepted it. 

Emerald Pearl let out a reluctant sigh. “Alright, just, go into the bushes over there, and I’ll do it.”

They did as they were told. Pressing buttons on their suits they enabled a sort of cloaking mechanism, causing to become nearly invisible and easily blended into the blue bushes.

The green pearl then got down on all fours. Slowly she phased off her evening gown to reveal a naked body. She also phased off her hair-tie, causing her hair to fall messily onto her shoulders. 

When she phased off her gown it revealed quite a sight. On her right thigh was a deep gash, looking as if something clawed her up real bad. Fortunately, the wound was fake. She applied it with special makeup hours before she and the humans set off on their hunt. All of that was done in an effort to make her ruse more convincing.

Settling herself on the mossy forest floor she began to cry out for help for her “wound.” Not with words, mind you, but with animalistic calls.

The peridot awakened from her slumber, being disturbed by sounds of pain from outside her den. She searched around the den for her mate so she could confront the noisemaker, but no sign of her could be detected. She glanced down at her babies, who were slowly being awoken by the din. They writhed in their nest, annoyed by the sounds of pain. Their mother tried to soothe them by snuggling them and muttering soothing sounds, but to no avail. Soon all of the gemlings were awake and bawling for the noise to stop. That was it.

Not too thrilled about having to leave her babies to settle the matter, the peridot begrudgingly got up and exited the den to find out where sound was coming from. She halted abruptly when she noticed the wounded gem lying on the forest floor, a deep gash in her thigh. It was a gem she hadn’t seen in her territory before. 

“A newcomer!” She thought defensively. Cautiously the peridot circled around the hurt gem, pondering. “What’s she doing here, in my territory? Is she alone? Where’s my mate to fend her off?” Her stance grew less hostile as she realized that this gem really seemed hurt, and badly for that manner. The crippled dark green gem made an effort to try and get up, only to collapse with a brutal thud from the pain. She looked up at the peridot with pleading eyes. 

The light green seemed unsure. Why should she help this strange new gem? For all she new she could be trying to harm her and her babies. But as she stared at the emerald gem’s eyes and her weak state, her uncertainty faded. This gem was no threat to her gemlings, she concluded - she’s too injured. She plopped herself down at the injured gem’s side and began licking the wound in an effort to heal it. Her face suddenly scrunched up in disgust.

“Yeesh . . .” the peridot thought, “This wound feels weird. Almost . . . grainy? And it tastes like . . . I don’t even know! What could’ve caused this?”

Suddenly the injured dark green gem turned towards some bushes. “NOW!” she shrieked.

The peridot watched in horror as something wide and weblike flung out of the bushes. The dark green gem quickly dodged out of the way, her “injury” seeming to cause no pain anymore. The net landed on the peridot, pinning her to the mossy forest floor. She writhed in pain as the net began delivering quick yet painful stabs coming from needles being protruded from the net’s carbon fiber wiring. She barely noticed the bushes the net came from rustling, as if an invisible force was driving through them towards her.

In surprise the green gem yelped as two hominid-looking creatures seemingly apparated in front of her. One mouthed out some sort of call to the other, a type the peridot had never heard before. The beings soon pulled out shiny black sticklike objects from behind them, with bits of lightning emitting from one end. They soon closed in on her brandishing those strange objects and she shrank back. The tall dark one stared at her with malice, while the short paler one looked on with regret.

Then the shocking began. Repeatedly the beings thrusted their sticks into the peridot’s body. She shrieked, the pain excruciating and stinging with each jolt of electricity. For a minute all the gem could see was stars. She managed to catch a glimpse of the other gem she was trying to help, who had her back turned to her in shame. That was all she saw before her vision faded to black, and she retreated into her gem.

“Heh, this one took damn well a while to poof!” Aaron said in a exasperated tone, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“Do . . . do they usually t-take that l-long?” Mitch asked, still reeling over what he had just committed. 

“Nah, they usually poof after a couple jabs,” Aaron responded, breathing heavily. Only then did he notice that only one gem came out of the den.

“Wait a minute . . . ‘the hell’s the other one? That blue one, where’s she at?” Aaron demanded, combing the forest with an almost frightened gaze. He took hits of air from his oxygen can strapped to his back out of anxiety.

Emerald Pearl summoned her clothing back and answered with a calm yet depressed voice, “She is probably out hunting food for her family. Judging by these tracks leading into the forest she has been gone for half an hour. She will be back soon,” she concluded in a decisive tone.

“Sonofa - alright, alright, look, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Aaron announced. “Em’rald, you know the most ‘bout these here gems, and we got guns,” he said, motioning to the shotguns he and Mitch carried. “We’ll stand watch while you go into the den and get them gemlin’s, ‘kay?”

“. . . Okay, I’ll do that,” she conceded sorrowfully.

Mitch and Aaron took up guarding positions while Emerald Pearl crawled through the den’s tunnel, clutching a plastic cage. It gradually grew cooler and more dark the farther she ventured forth. When she reached the other side and stepped into the den she almost burst out crying.

Eyes welling up, Emerald Pearl stifled back tears as she observed six crying gemlings lying in a bedding made of various forest products. Their pudgy hands outstretched into the cool air, desperately seeking their mothers’ presence as they have never been left alone that long. 

Emerald Pearl walked unsteadily towards the nest, her head practically scraping the earthen ceiling. Although the gemlings still had a long while until they could open their eyes, they still could detect a change in atmosphere and realized that some being that wasn’t either one of their parents was in their den. This only caused them to bawl even louder, their arms and feet flailing in the air. 

Emerald Pearl squatted down. With shaking hands she picked up one gemling, a lapis with triangular hair. The little baby squealed even louder after being touched by this foreign creature. 

“Ree! Reee - *sniffle* - eee! Reee!” The little gemling wailed, without her parents and completely powerless.

“Shh, shh, shh, *sniff,* hey, it’s *sniff* it’s okay, relax,” Emerald Pearl said through sniffles, stroking the gemling’s forehead. The dark green gem’s soothing voice pacified the baby a bit, but not enough for her to grow completely calm. The distraught gemling continued crying as Emerald Pearl nestled her down onto blankets inside her plastic cage. 

The process continued with each gemling: pick one up, stroke her forehead, put her in the kennel. This continued until she got to the smallest.

Emerald Pearl gingerly picked up the smallest gemling, a lapis lazuli. She could tell that she was the runt, for she was the tiniest, made the least noise, and wriggled around in her hand the least. “Oh . . . oh no,” Emerald Pearl said sadly. There was reason for her sadness.

In the gemling trade runts ended up in one of two ways. Some gemling seekers actually preferred to buy the runts, as they were the smallest and developed the slowest. Following this logic gemling runts would remain “cuter” the longest, and remain on the market longer. This runt could have an easier time finding a buyer.

On the other hand, if those certain buyers weren’t available, something else would happen to the runts. Sure, runts remained attractive longer than other gemlings, but they came with their own complications. As they developed the least inside their carrier’s gem they craved sustenance the most, often needing to eat several times a week. And gem breastmilk is quite expensive on the market. Plus, runts were more lethargic and susceptible to catching diseases, and their medical care was also pricy. So if nobody wanted her, then that meant . . .

The green gem couldn’t take it anymore. Her floodgates let loose and she let her head crumple into her chest. The lapis runt peeped louder, detecting this new beings sadness and growing more unsure of what it’ll do to her. 

Suddenly Emerald Pearl felt something on her hands. She opened her eyes, blinking to shed the tears away. The little lapis runt was rubbing her head against her palm, and was purring. She was actually purring, she was actually trying to cheer her up. Emerald Pearl, flabbergasted, managed to crack a smile and even let out a chuckle. Here she was, trying to kidnap this tiny defenseless baby, and she was actually offering love.

“That’s it,” Emerald Pearl thought. “I’m done. Too long have I broken up too many families and allowed them to be sold to too many people. No, I am going to change,” Emerald Pearl thought triumphantly. 

“Yes, yes that’s it! I’ll go out and tell Mitch and Aaron that I didn’t find any gemlings, that they must’ve been killed by some wild animal. We’ll leave, the lapis will return in due time, and care for the peridot so that she’ll reform properly! Then maybe this poor family could be left alone!”

Emerald Pearl shot up from her crouching position, a wide smile stretched out on her face. Carefully she set the lapis runt down in her nest. With an eager yet gentle motion she transitioned each and every gemling from the cage back into their nest. She grabbed the kennel and set off towards the den’s tunnel, rehearsing the conversation she would have with the poachers. 

She shot one last look back at the gemlings - who were still crying - and was happy to think that they would be better soon. She turned back and started crawling through the tunnel.

Suddenly she heard a commotion outside that caused her to cease movement. She heard Mitch shriek horrifically, only to be cut short by some unknown force. A shotgun blast rang out, presumably from Aaron, only for him to let out a blood-curdling scream and to suddenly become silent.

“Oh, fuck,” Emerald Pearl thought. “Some animal must’ve attacked them.” Summoning her weapon from her gem - a deep green scimitar - she scurried her supple framethrough the tunnel towards the exit.

She hadn’t even stepped out of the tunnel fully when something blue jumped up, seized hold of her shirt, and pinned her down to the forest floor just in front of the tunnel.

Emerald Pearl watched helplessly as her scimitar flung out of her hands and slid across the forest floor, well away from her. She stared up to see what was sitting on her chest. It was the lapis lazuli. 

The blue gem stared right back at Emerald Pearl, growling a deep growl. Her eyes conveyed nothing but rage and anguish, with little tears forming at the corners. Around her mouth was some sort of crimson-colored liquid, which dripped slowly onto Emerald Pearl’s chest. It also covered her claws, which were holding down Emerald Pearl. She knew by the smell what is was.

Turning her head ever so slightly as to not provoke the lapis, she noticed Mitch and Aaron lying on the ground. Her eyes suddenly widened in shock, and she had to really restrain herself from shaking. 

Mitch lied facedown in the earth. His body looked incredibly limp, practically like a rag doll. The back of his neck was almost unrecognizable. It was torn open, and blood oozed from the wound and various other scratch-marks that managed to puncture his suit.

Aaron wasn’t much better off. He laid on his back, his cobalt shotgun still clutched in his hand with a deathlike vice. His eyes were wide in terror, but were partially obscured by the splotches of blood dotting his black face. For the lapis lazuli had ripped apart his throat with such ferocity that the blood from the wound almost covered his face and body.

Emerald Pearl panically turned away and winced as the lapis raised up an arm, preparing to slash down on her gem. “Oh no - this is it. Why did it have to end like this?” she thought, struggling to accept her fate.

The lapis suddenly let her striking position falter. Her acute sense of hearing managed to pick up her gemlings sobbing from all the way inside her den. She turned towards the dens entrance, then back facing Emerald Pearl. She looked conflicted. Did she want nothing more than to shatter this gem who, for all she knew, was trying to kill her brood? Yes. But did she not want to leave her babies alone and afraid any longer? Also yes. Plus she didn’t want to leave her mate’s gemstone out in the open any more as well.

Slowly the lapis unhooked her claws from Emerald Pearl’s gown and got off her. Tossing the weighted net off her mate’s gemstone, she delicately picked it up with her teeth. Gem in between teeth, she got up and turned towards the tunnel. Stepping one paw inside, she turned back and glanced at the still terrified Emerald Pearl. For a split second she wanted to reverse her decision and finish off this strange green gem once and for all. Deciding against it, she turned back and crawled through the tunnel to be reunited with her family.

Shaken, Emerald Pearl timidly got up and looked at the bodies of Mitch and Aaron. 

“Poor Mitch,” she said aloud. “You didn’t deserve this. You had your whole human life ahead of you,” she stated, somewhat sadly.

She then turned towards Aaron and instantly formed a scowl. It softened a little when she fully comprehended the state of his body. “You were a ‘dick,’ sure - whatever that means - but, I wish your death was cleaner.”

Despite having barely any emotional attachment to these humans - most of it coming from looking at their lifeless husks - she was slightly compelled to take their bodies and have them properly cremated. That quickly changed when she remembered how she was barely spared by the lapis lazuli, who may come get her once she soothes her gemlings and takes care of her mate’s gem.

She had to leave. She knew where a shuttle station was, a couple miles away from the den site. Emerald Pearl decided she would take the next shuttle to the nearest non-Homeworld colonized planet. There she could hopefully leave the gemling trade and start life anew. 

Before she left that sordid scene of bodies she glanced back once more at the den she had wasted so much time searching for.

“Good luck,” Emerald Pearl concluded with a smile, then turned and left.


End file.
